Rouanet Lifts Cards to 4-3 Win Over UCF in NCAA First Round

Friday, May 12

Columbus, Ohio

11 a.m.

University of Louisville

UCF

Photo by: Gary Petit

Rouanet Lifts Cards to 4-3 Win Over UCF in NCAA First Round

May 12, 2017 | Men's Tennis

Junior Nicolas Rouanet clinched the Cards' first round win on court three

Junior Nicolas Rouanet's 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win over Harrison Richmond lifted the No. 42 University of Louisville men's tennis team to a 4-3 win against No. 28 UCF in the first round of the NCAA Championship Friday afternoon at Ohio State's Varsity Tennis Courts. The Cardinals (22-9) advance to Saturday's 3 p.m. regional final where they will face the winner of the other first round match between Butler and No. 3 Ohio State.

Rouanet's win on court three capped a marathon match that lasted nearly three and a half hours. The junior opened with a 6-2 win in the first set. UCF's Harrison Richmond went on the even the sets with a 6-1 victory to force a decisive third set. Rouanet was leading 4-0 when sophomore Brandon Lancaster tied the match with a win on court five. After going up 5-1, Rouanet withstood a rally by Richmond and went on to prevail 6-3 to clinch the win.

"We dialed up for a hero today and Nicolas Rouanet answered," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "He played with so much heart and courage, it made every Cardinal fan and teammate proud. He may not be big in size but he has a great heart. He defeated a great player. He would not have been in that position if it were not for Brandon Lancaster who got us our third point - just like he did at Notre Dame"

The Knights (16-7) took a highly-competitive doubles point to start the match with wins on courts two and three. Louisville's 23^rd-ranked duo of senior Sean Donohue and freshman ParkerWynn gave the Cardinals an early edge with a 6-3 win over No. 64 Mariano Porter and Harrison Richmond at No. 1 UCF's Korey Lovett and Danny Kerznerman, No. 72 in the ITA doubles rankings, edged juniors Nicolas Rouanet and Ciro Lampasas 7-5 at the two-spot bring the doubles tally even. The first point of the match came down to court three where sophomores Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and George Hedley built a 3-1 lead, but UCF's Kalman Boyd and Chris Barrus rallied to tie the score and eventually outlasted the Cardinals 7-6 (7-5).

In singles action, Wynn evened the score at 1-1 with a 7-5, 6-3 decision Harrison Richmond at the No. 2 spot. With the victory, the freshman pushed his team-best record to 41-10. Freshman Clement Filho defeated Boyd 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6 to put the Cardinals on top 2-1.

On court one, No. 111 Morin-Kougoucheff edged No. 42 Lovett 7-6 (7) in the first set, but fell 6-0, 6-2 in the next two as the Knights pulled even.

UCF gained a 3-2 edge on court four where Mariano Porter defeated Hedley 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.

Meanwhile at the No. 5 spot, sophomore Brandon Lancaster picked up a 6-4 first set win, but UCF's Chris Barrus took the second set 6-1 to push to a third set which Lancaster won 6-3 to tie the match score at 3-3.

"Setting up Brandon were freshmen Parker Wynn and Clement Filho," said Ecarma. "What a bright future those two have. Sean and Parker are playing at such a high level. I told all the guys that we are better as a unit than separate parts. Other teams have individual superstars, we have a group of individuals that have super chemistry and when you have that anything is possible."

#42 Louisville 4, #28 UCF 3
May 12, 2017 at Columbus, Ohio
(OSU Varsity Tennis Courts)
Singles
1. #42 Korey Lovett (UCF) def. #111 Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) 6-7 (0-7), 6-0, 6-2
2. Parker Wynn (LOU) def. Harrison Richmond (UCF) 7-5, 6-3
3. Nicolas Rouanet (LOU) def. Danny Kerznerman (UCF) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
4. Mariano Porter (UCF) def. George Hedley (LOU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
5. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) def. Chris Barrus (UCF) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
6. Clement Filho (LOU-MT) def. Kalman Boyd (UCF) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles
1. #23 Sean Donohue/Parker Wynn (LOU) def. #64 Mariano Porter/Harrison Richmond (UCF) 6-3
2. #72 Korey Lovett/Danny Kerznerman (UCF) def. Nicolas Rouanet/Ciro Lampasas (LOU) 7-5
3. Kalman Boyd/Chris Barrus (UCF) def. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff/George Hedley (LOU) 7-6 (7-5)
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,6,1,4,5,3)
NCAA Championship First Round Match
T-3:20